Special Dinner in Waikiki
 

Looking for place to take 60 Year old Lady for special dinner for her 60 th Birthday on Dec. 01-2009. We will be in Waikiki so either there or other place on that Island.
It has been her dream to go to Hawaii all her life so this trip is to celabrate her 60 th Birthday. Looking for real nice dinner on really nice beach setting.
Will appreciate your help.
Warren

We have been to the Hau Tree Lanai Restaurant at the Hotel New Otani a couple of times. It has a very nice "beach" setting. Check to see when sunset is and make your reservation accordingly. If the weather is nice, eat outside under than banyan tree.
http://www.kaimana.com/dining.htm

Hanohano Room at Sheraton Waikiki.

John Dominis in Kakaako

Top of Waikiki

On Dec 1, sunset is 5:48 in Honolulu.

http://sunrisesunset.com/ Use Honolulu. You can change the month.

In December, you can see the sunset from anywhere in Waikiki.

Michel's would be a great place.

Orchids Restaurant, right on the beach at the Halekulani Hotel on Waikiki Beach. Beautiful sunsets, view of Diamond Head.

http://www.halekulani.com/dining/

Thankyou very much for the info. I do alot of things on vacation based on suggestions from this forum.
Warren

MBnancy beat me to the Orchids recommendation. A nice restaurant in a beautiful setting. If the weather is clear, you could ask for a lanai table on the beachside of the restaurant for a nice sunset view. The Halekulani also has live Hawaiian music and hula on the lawn, perfect for evening cocktails.

Warren, one activity I have always enjoyed is listening to Jerry Santos and Olomana at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. The music is beautiful and usually there is a Hula Dancer as well. There is no cover charge and for the price of a drink, you can listen all evening. Here is a link to his schedule

http://www.olomanamusic.com/shows_bookings.html

If you click on CD's/Tapes at the bottom, you can listen to some of their songs and see if it appeals to you.

There is no shortage of possibilities for a special dinner! A couple more to think about: In Waikiki, Hula Grill's outdoor tables overlooking the beach have a great view http://www.hulagrillwaikiki.com/
Chai's Island Bistro at Aloha Tower has great food and service and excellent live music; it's a very nice experience http://www.chaisislandbistro.com/home.html

I was just coming back to recommend Hula Grill! It is a little more casual and upstairs from Duke's. While Duke's can be loud and full, Hula Grill is quieter. We got there at Happy Hour and had a Mango Margarita which was yummy. We were able to get a table right on the "rail" with a view of the beach and sunset. We walked through the sand to get there so dressed pretty casual.

La Mer at the Halekulani. Elegant, romantic, very good food and service.

I highly recommend Duke's.

Here's another vote for the Hanohano Room at the Sheraton Waikiki for a 60-year old lady. I took my wife there for her 75th birthday and is was delightful. If you decide on this location, be sure to make an early reservation and ask for a table by one of the windows facing Diamond Head and also mention her 60th birthday. When I did, my wife was favored with the most delicious dessert at the conclusion of our meal and it was complimentary. This rooftop restaurant is a great spot for seniors especially at sunset.

I agree that that La Mer's at Halekulani would be very special.

Alan Wong's is amazing if you are interested in a meal that may be the best you have ever had! We had a birthday dinner there and it was phenomenal. It is not on the beach,nor have much in the way of views, but the food...well that is the view!

http://www.alanwongs.com/kingstreet/king_street.html

Deb

I like the Hau Tree Lanai too. It's very romantic. It's about the only restaurant in Waikiki I've been too, though.

Another vote for Orchids.

I would NOT take an 'older' person to Duke's. It was probably our worst meal ever. Exceeding loud and very poor food.

Does anyone know about this place? This is not a recommendation rather truly a question. It looks very interesting to me.
www.willowshawaii.com
mahalo, Suze

I've recommended Dukes many times for people looking for a good, casual, lively place in Waikiki. But I have to agree with GBC, this is not somewhere I would direct an older person to, who was looking to celebrate a special birthday dinner.

suze, Willows is in Moiliili, 10 minutes away from Waikiki and is a popular historic restaurant from around World War II. It was closed for a number of years back in the 1990's and reopened under new management. They've done a nice job of refurbishing the property with its fishpond and have a pretty decent buffet service popular with local folks.

suze: We had lunch at Willows last year. It's a nice place and seemed popular with the locals. The food on the buffet was good, but not spectaular. Their curries were very good and there was fabulous deep-fried pieces of haupia on the dessert table the day we were there. One drawback was that some of the rooms were a long walk from the buffet line, which might make it difficult if you are handicapped or just loaded down with food.

mahalo curiousgeo & elkhound!

That sounds great to me. I knew it was an older place (from a friend who grew up in Honolulu, it's where her family went for special occasions when she was a child), that was closed and reopened. I understand and won't expect spectacular for the food, but the overall atmosphere and experience looks like it might be very "island". I am happy to hear it's popular with local folks. And assume I could just catch a taxi from Waikiki? Again, many thanks, and to Warren for letting me tag on his thread. This forum is the best!

I agree with DebitNM about the food at Alan Wong's. It is fabulous. My choice would be to have cocktails at sunset at the Halekulani or the Moana, and then go to Alan Wong's for dinner.

Also, I agree with GBC about Duke's. The food is not good and it is loud and crowded. It is my least favorite place in Honolulu.

Some very good info again. I will pick one for sure.
Thank you all very much.
Warren

I would recommend Michel's.

Suze, I go to the Willows a lot for parties since a buffet seems to be the best option. True, the food isn't fab, but it's not bad! It's a good place to go with a lot of family in town. I'm not sure if I would schedule a GTG there or anything, though!

I too highly recommend either La Mer or Orchids at Halekulani. We took local friends/colleagues to La Mer for a special celebration dinner several months ago. It is upstairs, while the other restaurant is downstairs (where we have mostly gone for (fabulous) lunch). Both are gorgeous, with good food, fabulous service and views. La Mer is pricier and more foodie style. We still remember the dinner we had there 20 years ago when we lived on Oahu. Also it's nice to listen to Hawaiian music trio and have drinks/pupus in the outdoor "House without a Key" before the meal at either restaurant.

It depends on the kind of atmosphere your lady enjoys most. The Hau Tree Lanai is one of my favorite places to take people who like being in "spitting distance" of the beach and outdoors. The prices are reasonable.

Alan Wong's is my favorite restaurant, but it is very expensive and has no view.

La Mer is a little stuffy and expensive, but the service is impeccable, as is the food. I find it condescending when the wait help explains every little item though.

For very upscale and close to the beach, my other favorite is Michel's -- perfect service always.

For "Romantic Hawaii" I'd go to Hau Tree Lanai (outdoors on the beach) or Michel's (just plain romantic)

La Mer

Michels

Hau Tree

All three are in Waikiki on the water. The key will be to secure a guaranteed table with view. Make sure to call well ahead and mention special occasion. The menu at La Mers is pretty intricate and expensive, and the Hau Tree's is simpler. Michel's is somewhere in between. All are wonderful choices. Choose your comfort level.

Alan Wongs is my all time favorite restaurant in Honolulu. 3660 On the Rise runs a close second. Neither have water views but the food is fantastic. I would suggest you do not eat at Willows. The food is nothing special.

Thanks for all your help. I have booked The Hau Tree Lanai for 5:30 so we catch the sunset.What would be proper dress for both of us ( Man and Woman ).
Thanks
Warren

We wore decent pants and nice aloha shirts, and that was fine. Because it's outside and by the beach, it seems informal, but people were also dressed in dresses and polo shirts and khakis.

You can buy a special lei for your friend for her birthday, which would look nice at dinner, too.

We love Alan Wong's too but I would suggest Orchids, La Mer, Hau Tree..have drinks at mai tai room at Royal Hawaiian.

Duke's no way.. too casual and so pedestrian.

Hau Tree Lanai is absolutely lovely!! I was there (just for drinks) two weeks ago. Very good choice. Most people were wearing "aloha" clothes of some sort... sundresses or capris and nice blouses for the ladies, kahki pants and polo or hawaiian shirts on the men.

Just back from 15 days in Hawaii,7 on Oahu and 8 on Big Island. Great trip and will report later. Just wanted to say thanks for info on places to eat. On Linda's Birthday we had Breakfast at Duke's and Dinner with sunset at Hau Tree Lanai under the Bayou Tree and it was wonderfull.
Thanks for all the feedback.
Trip was first to Hawaii and was even more than we expected.
Thanks again.
Warren Sheridn